Advertising sign



Feb. 14, 1939. A. F. ECKEL 2,146,944

ADVERTIS ING S IGN Filed Ma x oh 25, 1935 Patented Feb. 14, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFECE 9 Claims.

This invention relates in general to an electric sign which is adapted to be used for advertising and display purposes and has more particular reference to a sign which depends upon the pers sistence of vision for its operation and display eifect.

An important object of the invention is in the provision of suitable means for utilizing the characteristic rapid extinction and excitation rate of 10* a partially rarefied medium of either of the rare gases brought to incandescence when subjected to high potential.

A further object of the invention is in the provision of means comprising a segmented tube whose component parts are charged and discharged by suitable leads moving over a conductor in the form of reading matter or figures at a suffioiently high rate of speed to produce an image which may appear stationary or movable.

A still further object of the invention is in the provision of a sign device of this kind in which two or more segmented tubes containing different rare gases can be rotated simultaneously, producing the effect of a colored background and diiferently colored letters thereon.

A still further object of the invention is in the provision of means for causing the appearance of a sign having two or more colors, due to the per- 30' sistence of vision by multiplying the number of segmented tubes containing rare gases and receiving the same electrical excitation so that the speed of rotation may be reduced.

In the accompanying drawing,

35 Figure l is a perspective illustrating a device for carrying out this invention;

Fig. 2 is a wiring diagram illustrating the electrical connections which are necessary to the operation of the device.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation, and

Fig. 4 is a detail view of the rotatable commutator.

This invention depends upon the persistence of vision which requires that about sixteen images per second or nine hundred sixty images per minute are produced to form a letter or character which appears to be continuously in view. With the present device it is necessary, therefore, only to rotate a single lighting element at least nine hundred sixty revolutions per minute in order to produce the desired eifect, or if a less number of revolutions per minute are desirable the lighting elementsmay be increased and disposed oppositedegrees apart to quarter the revolutions per minute.

Referring more particularly to the drawing which illustrates more or less diagrammatically a simple means and method for carrying out this 5 invention, an electric motor i is represented as having a shaft 2 extending at both sides thereof which carries fixed contact rings 3 and 4 adapted to make electrical connection with brushes 5 and 6 respectively. 10

Extending through the shaft 2, which may be hollow, are electrical conductors l and 8 connected with the contact rings 3 and 4 respectively, these conductors being entirely separate and distinct from the motor itself which is supplied with current through its conductors 9 for operating it at any desired speed or speeds.

Also carried by the shaft 2 is an arm or member l0 bolted, clamped or otherwise secured thereto which has a commutator ll secured thereto near the shaft and at its outer end is a support ii for a substantially continuousbut segmented tube composed of different sections is all containing a rarefied medium of either of the rare gases which are rapidly brought to incandescence when subjected to high electrical potential. One of the electrical conductors, 1, extends through or is carried by the arm l0 and forms a common electrical connection for each of the sections [3, and each of the sections has another conductor l5 extending therefrom by way of the arm it and making connection with its corresponding contact point or segment I5 of the commutator I i so that whenever a circuit of suflicient potential is closed through the sections 13 they will be quickly brought to incandescence, or lighted, and also quickly extinguished when the electrical connection is broken.

The other conductor 8 carried by the shaft 2 forms a common electrical connection for one or more letters or characters Iii of any suitable conducting material, which are carried. by a fixed or movable support ll shown in the form of a disc in Fig. 1, separate from the shaft 2 but surrounding it, the points or segments of the commutator ll carried by the arm HI being brought in contact with said letter or character when the arm is rotated.

As the series of contact points or segments carried by the commutator sweeps over the exposed face of the letters or character It, the contact points or segments l5 thereof will cause electrical connections to be closedcorresponding to the letters. or characters on the support I], thereby ing characters causing the sections I3 to be lighted in accordance therewith as the arm i0 is rotated.

If the speed of rotation is sufficient these sections [3 will be lighted to form an image of the letter or character in the space traversed by them,

which will appear to be stationary if the support IT is held in a fixed position, due to the persistence of vision, or may appear to move if the support I! is moved.

This latter idea of moving the support for the letters or characters It will cause the enlarged image produced by the sections I3 to move in accordance with the movement of the character IE, but in order to be easily visible they should,'

are necessary for this type of light elements, the

brush leads from the commutator segments need not be in actual mechanical contact but may curve or extend closely adjacent the correspondl6, thus obviating mechanical wear and thus simplifying mechanical structure of the commutator. If the commutator is in the form of a continuous hub which is moved through the region of commutation, the advertising matter may be made to change kinagraphically so that a continuous changing message may be produced which appears to be standing,

or moving, in the air as heretofore explained,

due to the characteristicpersistence of vision.

It is contemplated that the supporting arm or member ID may be of considerable length to produce a sign of corresponding size and extent and if centrifugal force of the rotating parts should become an objectionable factor the speed of retation can be correspondingly reduced by using two or more segmented tube sections disposed oppositely or one hundred eighty degrees apart as shown in Fig. 1, or even ninety degrees apart or forty-five degrees apart if less speed is desirable. Each of these additional segmented tubes would be correspondingly connected to a commutator to repeat the same image at the same place. To produce different lighting efiects another segmented tube composed of sections 2| may be placed opposite the sections l3 at any angle thereto and these sections 2! may lead to a different commutator similar to the commutator I l which engages other conductors, or these sections may be continuously illuminated, producing a solid background of color upon which the letters or characters formed by the tube sections 13 will appear. It is obvious that many other combinations of color and messages may be produced by simply duplicating or increasing the number of segmented tube sections which are employed separately or in combination with each sign element.

I claim:

1. A display depending-upon the persistence of vision comprising a member movable in the same path carrying a plurality of lighting elements arranged in a continuous line, commutator means for lighting the elements at the same place in the path to produce an integrated illuminated image,

and means for moving the member at a speed to produce at least sixteen images per second.

2. A display comprising a rotatable member having a succession of lighting elements arranged in a line extending outwardly from the axis of the member and each element movable in a separate path to produce persistence of vision, and contact means including a commutator with circuit connections to illuminate the elements for producing an integrated image which appears in the said path.

3. Adisplay comprising a rotatable member having segmental lighting elements arranged continuously and in line, means to move the elements in separate concentric paths at a speed at least equal to the persistence of vision, contact means including a commutator connected to theelements for lighting them to build up an image at the same place in their paths to integrate and repeat the image in accordance with the speed of rotation.

4. A display comprising a member carrying a series of radial lighting segments arranged in a line, a commutator connected to the segments, a contact member to which the commutator is relatively movable for reproducing an image which is intermittently produced by engagement of the commutator with the contact member, and means for moving the member and the lighting segments at a speed to produce a series of images in their paths as determined 0y the contact member.

5. In a display, a rotatable member having radial lighting segments disposed singly in a continuous line, a commutator connected to the segments for lighting them independently to build up any character, a character moved relatively to the commutator to energize the lighting elements at the same part of their path at each rotation to integrate. and reproduce the character in light, and means for moving the segments to produce a persistence of vision for said character.

6. In a display, a rotatable arm having a radial segmented tube for gases illuminated when subject to high electrical potential, 2. commutator carried by the arm and having segments connected to corresponding segments of the tube, a relatively fixed member carrying a conductor character in the path of the commutator to produce an image thereof at the same point in the path of the tube segments, and means for rotating the arm to produce a persistence of vision.

7. In a display, an arm having a segmented tube for electrically illuminated gases, a commutator having segments connected to the segments of the tube, means for closing a circuit with the commutator segments to produce an image at the same point in the path of the tube, means for moving the tube and commutator at the speed for persistence of vision, and an additional electrically illuminated tube also moved by the tube moving means for producing a continuous illumination in the path of the segmented tube.

8. In a display, a radially extending rotatable member carrying a segmental tubing for gases subject to high electrical potential, a commutator connected to the tubing segments and rotatable with the member, a contact member bearing a character in the path of the commutator for energizing the tubing segments in the same point of their path as the member is rotated, means for rotating the first member at a speed greater than the persistence of vision, and the contact member being also movable slowly in the path of the tubing to move the image produced thereby without destroying the image.

9. In a display, rotatable means having segmental tubing for gases illuminated by high electrical potential located at a distance from the axis of rotation, a commutator having segments connected to the tubing segments and carried by said rotatable means adjacent the axis of rotation, a

relatively fixed contact support for characters in the path of the commutator means for rotating the means to produce persistence of vision of the characters in enlarged form, and tubing means also rotated and illuminated by high electrical potential for varying the lighting efiect of the segmental tube.

' ARTHUR F. ECKEL. 

